Balsam Poplar

(Populus balsamifera)

Other Names:

Balm of Gilead, Eastern balsam poplar, black poplar

Range:

Family:

Salicacae - Willow Family

Growth Type:

Fast growing deciduous tree

Height:

Can reach heights of 80 to 130 feet.

Leaves:

The leaves are alternate, ovate to heart-shaped, 3-6 inches long, with serrated margins, turning yellow in autumn.

Stem/Trunk:

A straight trunk up to 6 feet in diameter, featuring smooth grayish bark that becomes furrowed and dark with age,

Root:

Multi-layered, laterally extensive root system.

Flower Season:

Early summer

Flower Appearance:

Dioecious catkins produce cottony seeds that aid in wind dispersal.

Seed/Fruit:

Dioecious catkins produce cottony seeds that aid in wind dispersal.

Miscellaneous characteristics:

As an early successional, shade-intolerant pioneer species, it plays a key ecological role in stabilizing riverbanks, enhancing biodiversity in wetland habitats, and providing food and cover for wildlife including moose, deer, beavers, and various birds.
The tree's light, soft wood is valued for pulp, paper production, and construction. Although relatively short-lived (up to 200 years), P. balsamifera reproduces effectively through seeds and vegetative suckering, contributing to its resilience in dynamic environments.

Habitat:

It prefers moist, well-drained soils in riparian zones, floodplains, streambanks, and disturbed sites such as ecotones between boreal forests and tundra or prairies, tolerating periodic flooding and a range of climates from subarctic to temperate.

Parts Used:

Early spring resinous buds

Culinary Uses:

N/A

Energetics

Taste: Bitter/Pungent

Thermal: Warming
Humidity: Drying

Traditional Medicinal Uses:

Native american tribes have used ts buds and resin for medicinal purposes, such as treating wounds, respiratory ailments, rheumatism, and skin conditions due to their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties.

Ethnobotany, Indigenous Usage:

Bella Coola, Carrier, Chippewa, Iroquois, Micmac, Ojibwa, Paiute, Potawatomi, Shoshone.

Usage Indictions:

Common cold, cough, depurative, eye ailments, fractures. gastrointestinal disturbances, gout, heart ailments, orthopedic ailments, pulmonary ailments, respiratory ailments, rheumatism, skin ailments, snake bite, tuberculosis, tumor, venereal ailments, women's ailments.

Indications Citations

The fact that studies concerning all indications listed above have not yet been completed, does not mean said uses are invalid. The plants I have included have a long history of effective use, and most were part of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia prior to the advent of allopathic medicine.

Psoriasis: Bélanger A, Grenier A, Simard F, Gendreau I, Pichette A, Legault J, Pouliot R. Dihydrochalcone Derivatives from Populus balsamifera L. Buds for the Treatment of Psoriasis. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Dec 30;21(1):256. doi: 10.3390/ijms21010256. PMID: 31905943; PMCID: PMC6981943.

Medicinal Actions:

Analgesic, Anthelmintic, Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, Antipsoriatic, Antirheumatic, Blood-Cleanser, Diaphoretic, Expectorant, Laxative, Stimulant, Tonic: Lung, Vulnerary

This plant has been shown, by scientific studies, to exibit the following medicinal actions. The fact that studies concerning all of the traditional medicinal actions listed above have not yet been completed, does not mean said actions are invalid. The plants I have included have a long history of effective use, and most were part of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia prior to the rise of allopathic medicine.